How to get involved

Customers getting involved and having a say image

Listening to customers is very important to us. We value what you have to say about us and we welcome your ideas on how we can improve our services. That’s why we've developed a number of ways for you to get involved.

The level of involvement is completely up to you. However you want to get involved, you will be warmly welcomed by us.

Ways to get involved:

Estate Walkabouts

Customer Inspectors

Individual Support Focus Group

Customer Editorial Panel

Futures Group

Residents' Meetings

Regional Customer Forums

Mystery Shopping

Customer Action Groups

Homeowners Forum

Customer Voice

Residents’ Associations

Regional Customer Experience Panels

 

Estate Walkabouts are organised by neighbourhood officers keen to understand local issues in our communities. You can join a walkabout, meet other residents, and point out some of the things you don’t like such as fly tipping or any damage to property. The findings are shared with the Regional Experience Panel.

A list of estate walkabout dates is available each year. To find out when your next walkabout is taking place, register your interest using the form below.

Customer Inspectors carry out regular inspections to make sure we are delivering a high-quality service. Inspectors give us their opinions on what is working well and what we can improve. They report their findings to the National Customer Experience Panel.

Individual Support Focus Group gives our sheltered and extra care customers the chance to get involved in issues that directly affect them.

Customer Editorial Panel looks at the different ways we communicate with customers. The panel makes sure the information we put out is relevant, interesting and easy to understand. This may include looking at standard letters, customer newsletters, booklets and the website.

Futures Group is made up of customers from around the country. It meets two to four times a year to think about how we should be developing our services to meet the needs of customers in the future.

Residents' Meetings are for people living in Individual Support schemes, giving you the chance to discuss issues affecting you, your home and the staff working with you.

Regional Customer Forums are groups that meet every three months to monitor performance and agree strategy and policy at a regional level.

Mystery Shopping is our ‘undercover agents’ who pop into our local offices, visit a neighbourhood, check out our telephone service and see how we respond to emails. Mystery shoppers who take part each month will be entered into a prize draw to win £25 store vouchers.

Customer Action Groups are groups in which customers and staff work together to improve a single specific service, such as Community Safety, Income Management or Repairs / Improvements, on an ongoing basis. The format of each group may vary, but usually involves regional rather than national meetings.

Homeowners Forum is a national forum to tackle issues affecting homeowners.

Customer Voice is a group of customers which gives honest feedback on different topics. Voice is a ‘virtual’ consultation group, which means you can give us your comments from the comfort of your own home, by email or post. There are no meetings to attend. The feedback that you give us is shared with senior management.

Residents’ Asssociations are run by people living in the community. They hold regular meetings and discuss local concerns and run community events. Anyone can set up a residents’ association in their neighbourhood. The regional customer forums can award start-up grants to help set up new associations.

Regional Customer Experience Panels are groups that meet every three months to improve services at a regional level by testing and monitoring services. Some members take part in site visits but this is not a requirement.

How to sign up
To join any of our groups, please complete this membership form. You only have to complete one form, even if you want to get involved in more than one group.